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Castle Blaze
Population: 33,575 (85% Human, 5% Half-Elf, 5% Halfling, 3% Gnome, 2% Half-Orc) Government: Monarchy Religions: The One Imports: Weapons, Armors Exports: Water Clocks, Fruits, Vegetables, Fish, Weapons, Armors, Laborers Alignment: All Life and Society In the past, there have been major power struggles between different faiths and religions. During the reign of Duke Teldon Hendron, things got so out of hand that church officials and other clergymen began making power plays for the throne of Castle Blaze, as well as resorting to assassination of one another. As a result, the church of the One was created. The original idea of the Church of the One, as thought up by Duke Teldon Hendron, the father of Duke Lucien Hendron, was a state sponsored religion that was based on the tenets of different individual religions, to replace them. The idea has been changed, but the religion is still the prevalent one in Castle Blaze. The religion stresses the good ideals of all other religions, and is accepted by most residents of Castle Blaze. Because of their history, and the many conflicts the two states have had over the years, most natives of Castle Blaze do not particularly like those from Altathair, even though the two kingdoms are culturally very similar. Major Organizations Church of the One The Defenders of Blaze The Judges Major Geographical Features Castle Blaze is located in the north, but is protected from the chill winds of the north by the Twin Peaks, a pair of mountains located north of the city. The Twin-Peaks stand in the way of the frozen winds, and prevent them from blowing into Castle Blaze. Therefore, the city enjoys seasonable temperatures during most of the year, and chill temperatures during the winter. Important Sites Caste Blaze Proper The Clockwork Tower Regional History Castle Blaze can trace its origins back to a little over two thousand years ago, in -1145. Altathair was expanding, and built where Castle Blaze stands today was roughly the extent of her western influence. Castle Blaze was originally built as a fortress, to protect against Orc raids, Dragon attacks, and similar foul situations. Construction took approximately two years, because the fortress was the most advanced, at the time. The name ‘Castle Blaze’ comes from a bastardization of what the locals originally called the area- ‘Blaise’. In the span of the ten years when Castle Blaze was in full operation by Altathair, it fended off two concentrated Orc attacks, an attack by a Green Wyrm, and numerous minor bandit attacks. Altathair kept roughly 2,000 trained soldiers stationed at Castle Blaze at all times, plus another 500 or so local conscripts, who were not trained as highly as the native Altathairians, but could handle swords and shields nonetheless. In –1131, General Azarian, a highly decorated soldier, experienced tactician and up-and-coming politician, was appointed head commander of Castle Blaze. The move has continued to puzzle historians, even today. Some historians ascribe to the theory that the King at the time, King Malcolm, sent General Azarian out to Castle Blaze, so that his budding political career would come to an end, either with his death, or from obscurity due to distance. Others believe that King Malcolm did this, to boost the morale of his soldiers in the east, because General Azarian was well known and well liked by the rank-and-file soldiers. Two years after being given control of Castle Blaze, General Azarian decided to take control of the fortress. In –1129, General Azarian seized control of the fortress from King Malcolm, and declared Castle Blaze its own independent city-state. Very few soldiers had any objection, and most actually supported General Azarian. The few who mouthed discontent were stripped of their belongings, and banished from the military fortress. The reason why very few objected was because almost since being installed as the commander of the fortress, General Azarian had been planting the seeds of discontent. He would secretly steal and appropriate the funds of other soldiers, and of the fortress itself, blaming the shortages that would spring up on the Altathairian government. He would sometimes execute random soldiers, producing forged warrant papers. He would sometimes send soldiers on suicidal missions, citing that the orders to do so had come from the upper levels of the government itself, and that the General could not overrule them. Slowly but surely, General Azarian was cementing mistrust in his soldiers towards Altathair. When he finally declared Castle Blaze independent, most soldiers supported him, even though they were betraying their country. The timing of declaring independence was not random. Most knew that General Azarian could cast a few wizard spells, as well as being a great soldier. Most did not know, however, that General Azarian was an accomplished necromancer. It is not known whether or not he was a necromancer before he became a career soldier, or if necromancy was something he began to utilize after he became a soldier. But, either way, the few spells that Azarian publicly used were only a very small portion of his complete repertoire. Shortly after declaring Castle Blaze’s independence, General Azarian became a Lich. In the secret basement of the Clockwork Tower, a strange ruin that lie near the military fortress, General Azarian completed the ritual that exchanged his soul for power and Undeath. Very few would learn that he was a Lich, since he constantly kept magical illusions and disguises up on his persona at all times. Only days after declaring independence from Altathair, the Sun Kingdom declared war on Castle Blaze. King Malcolm was not amused by General Azarian’s grab for power, and he wished to punish his rogue general, as well as recapture Altathairian territory. Hours after declaring war, King Malcolm mobilized Altathair’s military, and it began to march west, towards Castle Blaze. Once General Azarian learned of this, he declared war on Altathair. The odds of Castle Blaze defeating Altathair were a long shot, especially since Castle Blaze only had 2,500 soldiers, more or less, while Altathair had decided to mobilize only 5,000 trained soldiers, and roughly1,000 conscripts to march to Castle Blaze. Because he could not run every single faucet of the war, General Azarian appointed four captains. These captains were men that Azarian had been watching for a long time, and had been grooming their careers. In a meeting with all four, the general revealed his true nature to these four men, and informed them of his true intentions- domination of the entire world. Power hungry, and lacking most scruples, all four agreed to serve the Lich general. These four men- Armond, Finthe, Ichor and Razryl- became known as the Four Captains of Azarian. With Altathair’s army marching west, General Azarian began his own march east. Emptying Castle Blaze of most of its inhabitants, the general began marching towards Altathair, leading his 2,250 soldiers into battle. As he passed through small hamlets and villages, he forced many able-bodied males into his service. He also allowed his soldiers to have their way with the women of these places. As Azarian marched, he left destruction and terror in his wake. For the most part, Azarian was unchallenged. Most did not challenge his military might, and allowed him to step all over them. Concorde, a local village warrior, began training the warriors in his village in guerilla, hit-and-run tactics. When Azarian and his army eventually reached Concorde’s village, they were all well trained. Concorde had his warriors scatter, to train warriors from other nearby villages. Most of Concorde’s warriors were forcibly conscripted into Azarian’s army, and those that weren’t lay hidden, waiting to attack. Hours after the front of the war had passed east, Concorde gave the word to attack. His warriors who had been hidden suddenly struck, flanking the weak middle of Azarian’s army, cutting down numerous soldiers. Concorde’s warriors who had been forcibly conscripted into Azarian’s army turned on the general, killing as many as possible before escaping into their local terrain. For weeks, General Azarian’s army lay stymied, as the locals slowly were picking off the soldiers. General Azarian slowly breaks the ranks of his army, to surround the local insurgents. The tactic worked, and Azarian soon had the insurgents surrounded. He herded them to an area where his army would have the advantage, and proceeded to slaughter each and every local warrior, including Concorde. To historians, this campaign would become known as the Battle of Concorde. In –1118, almost ten years since war first was declared, the armies of Castle Blaze and Altathair met. The forces from Castle Blaze, led by General Azarian, numbered slightly over 3,000. The forces from Altathair, led by General Khronig, a contemporary of General Azarian, numbered slightly over 6,000. The odds were 2:1 in Altathair’s favor. The battle was terrifying, and devastating. Wizards hurled massive war spells. Squadrons of archers from either side let loose volleys of death into the skies. Clerics channeled the powers of their gods to heal the dead and the wounded, only to have them killed and wounded once more. Infantry clashed with infantry, and cavalry clashed with cavalry. In the end, Altathair’s superior numbers, weaponry, armor, and training won. The forces of Castle Blaze were sent packing, and the army of Altathair was giving chase close behind. During the combat, General Azarian was struck in the chest by a stray arrow, and his physical form was destroyed. Unbeknownst to most, his soul returned to the Clockwork Tower, where it would slowly mend itself, and create a new body. A young field commander by the name of Orphen Undreel took command of the nearly paralyzed army, and led the retreat back to Castle Blaze. General Azarian had charmed Undreel, while the general was still “alive”. In case of Azarian’s death, Undreel was supposed to take command of Castle Blaze and her army, and make his decisions based on what he believed General Azarian would do. Once Orphen Undreel and the forces of Castle Blaze arrived back at the fortress, they were safe. Though the Altathairian army was still far superior, in terms of numbers, they would not be able to penetrate into Castle Blaze, which had been designed to repel sieges by large armies. For seven years, the Altathairian army would sit camped outside Castle Blaze, trying to enter into it. But, never once were they able to. A shaky treaty between Altathair and Castle Blaze ended the official war, and the official conflicts. The soldiers around Castle Blaze returned to Altathair. For years and years, Castle Blaze would exist in relative peace. In this time, Castle Blaze would begin to grow from a simple military fortress into a small village, then a small town, and then a small city. During these years, Castle Blaze altered its sociopolitical structure, so that it would be more favorable to the civilians who were now living in and around the Fortress of Blaze itself. For example, a monarchy was installed, and all citizens, no matter what rank or standing, were given a set of basic rights and privileges. In the late 1000’s and early 1100’s, Castle Blaze would have a various conflicts and turmoil’s. Tensions between Castle Blaze and Altathair flared up, as the Duke of Castle Blaze, Duke Dalan Hendron, accused Altathair of intentionally inflating the foods market from the Hedgelands, so that Castle Blaze would have to pay higher prices for grains. The King of Altathair, King Darien, became incensed, and demanded Duke Dalan to apologize. When the Duke of Castle Blaze did not, it seemed that the two nations would come to blows after hundreds of years of peace. However, at the last moment, diplomacy averted what could have been a disastrous war in the north. A few decades later, Dracothaxthys, a powerful Red Wyrm that lived in the Twin-Peaks north of Castle Blaze, attacked Castle Blaze. While the Castle of Blaze itself, and those living within its confines were relatively safe, the farmers and commoners who lived in the outermost ring of the city suffered the greatest casualties. Hundreds died, and thousands of gold pieces worth of crops were destroyed. A few months later, when Dracothaxthys left his lair to attack Castle Blaze again, the creature was slain. The defenders of Castle Blaze had been warned, via the use of divination spells, of an impending Dragon attack. When Dracothaxthys came down from the mountains, the army of Castle Blaze was ready and waiting. Though many defenders of the city died, the threat to the safety and security of the city was dealt with. Only a few short years later, Castle Blaze was confronted by a large horde of goblins from the Twin-Peaks. The Stone Claw goblin clan had been dominated by Dracothaxthys long ago, and served him for generations. With the death of the Dragon, the Goblins had their freedom. The first thing they elected to do was leave the mountains, and head south, looting and pillaging in their wake. Castle Blaze stood in their way, and was the first settlement they encountered. Still weakened by the battles against Dracothaxthys, the Goblin horde initially beat the defenders of Castle Blaze back to the Castle of Blaze itself. However, Duke Lucien Hendron contracted the services of the Black 300, a large mercenary company. With the combined might of the military of Castle Blaze and the Black 300, the Goblin horde was dispersed. The majority of Stone Claw Goblins were killed, and those that survived fled back north, into the Twin-Peaks. Early in 1131, Duke Lucien Hendron, the current reigning Duke, suddenly disappeared. His young son, Keller, assumed control of the city-state, guided and advised by Harmon, the court wizard. Literally, weeks after the disappearance of Duke Lucien, hordes attacked Castle Blaze, a large horde of undead attacked the city. This was only a precursor for what was to come, however. The Undead did not penetrate far into the city, thanks to the various defenders of Castle Blaze. In the aftermath, a large cult dedicated to reviving General Azarian was discovered, as was Duke Lucien’s whereabouts. Lucien was rescued, and the cult was dismantled. However, the cult was correct, and the large horde of Undead heralded the return of General Azarian, now a powerful lich, and his Four Generals. Azarian’s plan, in which he would forcibly take control of the city, failed, and the Lich general was defeated. A sense of normalcy returned to Castle Blaze once more.